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DOMA

Same-Sex Joint Filing

One result of the strike-down of DOMA is that legally-married same-sex couples will now be required to file federal tax returns as marrieds – either married-filing-jointly or married-filing-separately.  This ruling takes effect on September 16, 2013.  This means that, regardless of how the members of the couple filed their returns in the past, they only have the MFJ or MFS filing statuses to choose from for returns filed on or after September 16, 2013. For couples who have not filed a return for 2012, now is the time to review whether filing as Single status provides a superior result (lower overall taxes) versus the MFS or MFJ option.  If filing Single or Head of Household works out better for the couple, the (presumably) extended 2012 tax return must be filed before September 16, 2013 in order to utilize a Single or Head of Household filing status.  After that date, the […]